Russian attack on Ukrainian train as part of strategy to undermine Western support

Nothing about the Russian attack on a Ukrainian train at the weekend was likely to have been a coincidence: not the immediate proximity to the border and not the proximity to another train in which high-ranking Western diplomats and numerous journalists were sitting. It was only two weeks ago that Dmitry Medvedev, Vladimir Putin's envoy for rudeness, threatened European statesmen with attacks on the trains on which they traveled to Kiev.

The Kremlin wants to undermine support for Kyiv

The brisk diplomatic travel to Kiev is a thorn in the side of the Russian regime because it is an expression of unwavering support for Ukraine. The Kremlin is trying to undermine them by all means, including terrorist attacks in the EU - see the explosive drone in Leipzig. If fewer Western parliamentarians and government members traveled to Ukraine in the future because of security concerns, it would be a significant blow to Kiev.

Russia appears to be shrinking less and less from attacks on Western targets. There is no other way to understand the attack so close to a Polish border crossing. The impact of a Russian cruise missile on a field in eastern Poland at the end of July was already a warning shot. The Polish government is alarmed for good reasons. How would NATO react if such an attack damaged a member state's border facilities or even injured or killed border officials?